Monday, October 31, 2005

Marriage and Judges

Today’s nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court saddened me. Replacing the first woman to sit on the high court by a man. Each nomination seems more white, more male and more out of touch with the average Joe. Didn’t Bush attempt to woo the soccer mom, saying that W stood for Woman? Exactly what has he done for women?

And then I read an article this weekend suggesting that the feminist movement was all just a cruel hoax and that women are now back to being objectified and putting finding a man above everything else. I’m so disconnected from all of that. Am I really living in that reality? I’m still waiting to meet a woman who is just crazy to find a man. Actually, I have, and she had several suitors knocking on her door, but didn’t like them, yet she still complained of no boyfriend. I guess she wasn’t that desperate. Where does that fit into the generalized theories on how women are marrying for money and men are chasing the young and beautiful.

I think it is impossible to generalize on trends in coupling. There will always be the older, wealthy man/younger, attractive woman syndrome. And I’m on Anna Nicole’s side – she deserves $1M for every night she spent with that old millionaire. We all know what that arrangement is about – and his sons are repugnant trying so hard to hoard their father’s money. She worked for it, what did they do?

Just imagine nights at home between Anna Nicole and Howard Marshall. Could it have been satisfying to either side? Can a relationship with such inequality – where the woman is entirely dependent on the man who may or may not replace her with a younger model on her 40th birthday – bring happiness to either party? Happy marriages often have a basis of mutual respect – how can there be respect with such inequality? Doesn’t the thrill of being owned wear out after so long?